Welcome back to a brand new episode of The Yours, Mine, Away! Podcast. This week, we’re very excited to be joined by Rotherham United goalkeeper, Dillon Phillips!
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You’re only 28 mate I feel like I’ve like known about it for years I think you broke through quite young obviously coming through at cholon see some strange sites in the changing rooms and things like that but just sort of helped me grow up fast really sort of like a
16y old 15 16 training with Andy Woodman goalie coach at the time and Robbie Elliott and I just remember I used to think wow I watch younger goalies come up and it’s like oh you need to be tired you need to catch you need to catch you
Need to catch I actually passed it the outside of my foot fell over and sort of half tried to buy a foul as well in in a huddle when the manager saying who wants to go and goal and like no one put their hand up and I was looking around
Thinking well if no one wants to do it I’ll do it yeah put me hand up and that was literally it my biggest coach was my dad do you know what I mean I get in the car and it was could you do this better could you do that better do you know
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Episode hello everyone welcome back to the yours M away podcast with me Mark Howard today I’ve got a top goalkeeper and a proper gezer on uh please welcome Dylan Phillips how you doing mate H mate you okay yeah good mate you got more of a London accent than I have mine’s got
Very lost yeah it’s nice it’s I don’t think I’ll ever lose that one no definitely even like you’re moving around and that living up north now coming at Ram yeah no we’ll always remember my roots mate um everywhere I go people always say you’ve got an
Accent and I after say to him no no no I’m from the capital like you you’re the one with an accent do you know what I mean that’s a great way of putting it but no uh yeah it’s good to be on mate yeah no thanks for coming on I I can’t
Believe you’re only 28 mate I feel like I’ve like known about it for years I think you broke through quite young obviously coming through at cholon and stuff and I’ve just known about you for a long time and I’m pretty sure we have met against each other on a pitch a few
Times so yeah no it’s been uh I was sort of pushed in and around the first team environment at quite a young age at child so I did a lot of traveling around the country with Charon as sort of like a number three and and uh yeah from from
A young age from sort of 17 18 and worked with some really good goalies at at Charon and some really good goalie coaches as well um and they just wanted me sort of on that journey to see what it was going to be like and see some see
Some strange sites in the changing rooms and things like that but just sort of helped me grow up fast really I think so it definitely matures you as a goalkeeper when you’re even if you’re third fourth choice but you’re out on the pitch doing the match day warmup and
You know what it’s about don’t you you grow up quicker yeah and you work in that small group don’t you with with two or three goalies that are normally older than you so you have to adapt do you know what I mean um but I’ve been really lucky with with the goalies especially
At Chon that I worked with and some of the sort of things I learned off them Lads was was brilliant even as going back as far as like Robbie Elliott I remember being sort of like a 16y old 15 16 training with Andy Woodman goalie coach at the time and Robbie Elliott and
I just remember I used to think wow how how good is he you his hands just that was the first thing I noticed he didn’t drop a ball you I mean he was brilliant and then there’s so many there’s so many goalkeepers I want to talk about this as
Well uh Chon have produced ridiculous amount of goalies Darren Randolph popy Elliot yourself yeah uh there’s been loads that have come through so many so many as well that come onlan do you know what I mean Ben heon wasn’t online but David button yeah I remember watching
Him train when I trained with him he was brilliant um Ben anik was brilliant for a period when he was there um yeah and we had two or three foreign Lads come over as well from we had teram Ilan tram’s brother yoan teram the fullback for France his brother yoan teram come over
Un loan from standardly age when Charon were owned by uh Belgium owners him and another goalie Marco dmitrovic who is now I think he’s sevil number two no way and he gets in the Serbia squads could be wrong but I think Serbia squads yeah yeah that’s incredible why why do you
Think Chon have had such a like a hot bed of goalkeepers I don’t know really I don’t know is it the coaches I think potentially yeah I mean that was my reasoning for signing for Char at eight years old you know what I mean I was at
On trial as a seven eighty old at all the London clubs and and I could have signed for all of them really at the time Charon was a premier league side and at the time Lee smelt was the goalie coach at Charlton for the younger age
Groups and he was the best out of all of them and that’s why me and my dad made the decision or my dad made the decision to take me there because he felt it was the best for my development they they’ve always been brilliant at developing players not just goalies by the way
Outfield as well they got some the talent that’s come through that football club is unbelievable really um so just to sort of be mentioned with some of the names is is nice enough do you know what I mean um but yeah it’s a great club uh with a
Great Academy y right I’ve got a couple quick fire questions just before we get started so uh catch Parry I’ve listened to a few of your podcasts and I’ve heard a few people say a few good answers there I mean I think I’ve got to say catch being an English goalkeeper
But I would say that what I’ve learned over the last sort of few years is the importance of parrying the ball is sometimes especially with younger goalies like I watch younger goalies come up and it’s like oh you need to be tired you need to catch need to catch
Need to catch and then I’ve heard was it Jack I think I listened to his podcast he said like you need to be a good parer of the you do because in a game you don’t catch many so catch but be a good parer as
Well very good asmu was the one that was one of the first that went now Parry yeah and I was like why and he went I work on it every day in training because that’s what I do in a game he goes you don’t get a lot of opportunities to
Catch a shot in a game put it into perspective it’s a really good shot my little brother actually was at Spurs just a little bit of cont he was at Spurs from like the age of eight to like 14 and he used to come home and I’d say
What did you what have you worked on today and it was Alex Walsh the goalie coach and no would say oh we’ve done like uh we’ done soft pares today and I was like what what’s that and then I started to think actually like it’s good that they’re being coached at soft Parry
To sort of take this thing off the pace of the ball or whatever and yeah no it’s important for the young ones as well course it is yeah right tea or coffee a coffee easy easy drinking a coffee in the W play short or kick it long
Um whatever the manager tells you to do is it yeah yeah I think now I enjoy playing sh more because and especially a few years ago when I when I first come through at Char partly a couple of managers are you good enough
With to do that so I had to go away and work on that and I’ve worked on it and I feel like I’m more than capable of doing it now so there’s a right time for both but I do especially in training and stuff I enjoy playing sha right who’s
The best goalkeeper in the world right now um I mean the obvious one in the Premier League is probably Alison isn’t it yeah um CTO yeah he’s got to be up there just getting back fit now as well and he’s but he’s injured again oh is he yeah
He’s done it again I’ve see something a couple of days ago I think he’s done his miniscus maybe so yeah he’s been back fit and then he’s done something again so I don’t think he’ll be fit yeah for for the next few games or whatever but
Yeah one of them two yeah uh who is your favorite goalkeeper growing up um I mean probably like when I was growing up in an England shirt it would be someone like Paul Robinson or something that I used to watch you know what I mean and
Think like my dad was a leads fan as well so that helped I was never a leads fan myself but yeah Paul Robinson he used to have some kick on him yeah his his car massive as well but he could launch a ball think of who else Casas
Oliver Khan people like this but I used to watch dagam Rivage when I was a kid growing up because obviously dad was a leads fan training four days a week getting back from training coming back through the black wall tunnel would stop at dagnam on the way home and we watch
Him and Tony Roberts was the goalie for the the whole time that I was watching them really and I used to sort of idolize him as silly as it sounds I played in the conference in League two and we actually watched him get promoted from League two to League one I was
Probably 13 at the time and I used to watch him all the time and it was funny because obviously when he started becoming the when he was the Wales goalie coach I went up to him and obviously knew I was through the football industry and I said to him you
Don’t quite know who I am do you and he was like what do you mean I said like I used to stand and watch you warm up every day every game every home game and some away games and he and he looked at me and it just he could see it click you
Know what I mean and he was like of course I remember you used to ask for his gloves and things like that so we had quite a good a good chat down at the V the the CI from W’s training ground but that was uh yeah he was he was
Someone I looked up to he’s gone on to being a really really good goalkeeper he’s now with AC Milan isn’t he yeah so wow that’s a great move for him incredible yeah right uh long sleeve goalie tops or short sleeve I don’t even know if they do long sleeve anymore do
You wear long sleeve well they do it but we cut them off yeah everywhere I’ve been the last all my Cardiff shirts all my shirts and all my R shirts have been shortle just changed I’d say short sleeve with an under AR to be honest but that’s what
You’re training every day yeah so it’s train how you play right and then final one uh it’s the last minute of a game you can either save a penalty that’s means you win the game or you can go up and score the winner um what are you
Doing yeah I’d love to score love to score I remember not I didn’t score but we played Peter bro away for Cardiff and I went up it was 2-1 we was losing 2-1 at the time I believe went up sort of not didn’t get on the first one it was
Looped over my head towards 18 yard box and I was the nearest one there and I’ve sort of like tackled someone outside of the boot passed it out wide to Maron pack couple of stepovers cross and we scored from it so our sort of as we F about yesterday little major
Contribution sort of thing I actually passed it the outside of my foot fell over and sort of half tried to buy a foul as well and then we scored from it and the celebrations were great um so yeah took theit yeah that feeling was brilliant and let what what what would
It feel like scoring a goal but right yeah class right I want to talk about how you got into goalkeeping then so obviously from a young age was you an outfielder first no never I was always a goalkeeper played for Pegasus from as young as I can remember and I I actually
Remember the day that we was there in in a huddle on the manager saying who wants to go and go go and like no one put their hand up and I was looking around thinking well if no one wants to do it I’ll do it yeah put me hand up and that
Was literally it yeah don’t get me wrong we’d win seven eight nine Nils and I’d be like sticking me hand up can I go up front and I think I might put a shirt on Outfield a few times but no I’ve never been never been an outfield player
Always being a goalkeeper what made you decide to put your hand up I don’t actually know I just I can literally like it’s not like a story that I tell I can literally remember the field whe was on I know exactly where where it is in dagnam yeah and I can literally remember
Put my hand up and going like I’ll do that and I don’t even think it was a discussion between me and my dad in the car before like where are you going to play what you can do it was just hand up when I’m dad I want to play in goal B
Gloves and that was it you know what I mean did you did you obviously I I don’t know your background but did your dad then go right I’ll take you for some training first and find out if you’re any good or was it at football you was
Like no I don’t think because at that age you wouldn’t have had any stra into coaching no there was no goalie coaching I don’t know maybe my dad was a massive influence and always used to come to training and take me things so I I imagine he would have maybe pulled me
Aside for 10 minutes whacked a few balls at me but nothing sticks like I don’t really know how I started learning goalkeeping I I’ve spoke mentioned his name already Lee smelt a fell who was at Char and a goalie coach who I still speak to now we get on
Great that’s where I learned to be a goalkeeper he’s the reason why I I know the different techniques and things like that but I don’t remember anything younger than that so then obviously going in from obviously playing for Pegasus then when did you then get
Scouted or was it a school game or it was I don’t know exactly I’d be lying if I said something but we used to play we used to play in like used to play in the league it was the echo League at the time we used to play in the Echo League
We were never the best team we were sort of mid-table there was a team that was the best it was Bayern redstar quite a few of my mates who still now friends they played for Bayern redstar we used to beat all the time but I used to like
Like them games because I’d always be busy load to do yeah but like what we do in the summer months is like there’d be little mini tournaments elsewhere and we’d take the best out of the echo league and we’d go and play in these tournaments and I’m pretty sure
That’s where the Scouts started to come because everyone in that little team would be like it was just one of the dads a fell called Sam Shepard Steve Shepard his name was he took us wherever we’d go and we’d just go win these tournaments around the country because
We were the best from the echo league and and there was obviously Scouts there and I think it was sort of part of it he said actually worked for Chelsea as as a scout of the time so he knew they’d be there and that’s what that’s where all
Of them players got got scouted from so yeah it would have been sort of like one of them Sunday League tournaments sort of thing so then going on trial then not really ever having any goalkeeper coaching that’s a daunting thing to go into your first goalkeeper coach coaches
Sessions yeah how how do you have any memories from them not really no I just think I was so like just enjoying the experience I was so like I was quite confident as a kid you know what I mean I didn’t really care what people thought
And I just threw myself into things so we everywhere we went and I love the goalkeeping from a young age so like when I went to Tottenham for example I remember it was an indoor facility late and way and I was like well where’s the
Goalie coach there wasn’t one I so I had to join in with the players and I didn’t quite enjoy it as much you know what I mean whereas when I went to Chelsea or Charon it was like right there was a goalie coach there so I could do what I
Enjoyed doing yeah but yeah the only time it got boring was when you play on a Sunday and you’d win 9 N you didn’t touch the ball but when I knew I was going to get a feel of the ball and I was going to learn things goalkeeping
Wise I enjoyed doing that I didn’t want to be over with the strikers all the midfielders but yeah that was my first real taste of goalkeeping was just going on trial to these clubs and I loved everything I loved I L I L I would ass
Signed for any of them because they were all great clubs you know what I mean but obviously my dad mainly he took the decision to to to go to Charlton because it was he saw it was the best pathway for me and and I probably think he was
Right at time 100% obviously like you’re looking at it now and obviously looking at the the history of the club that they have produced players wise and that’s incredible what was the The Academy system like at Chon then yeah really good really good um I don’t think you
Appreciate it as much until you sort of get into your scholarship years do you know what I mean I think you just I think I could have been sort of not anywhere but you go in you train every day and apart from Lee my biggest
Coach was my dad do you know what I mean I get in the car and it was could you do this better could you do that better do you know what I mean that was the relationship we had and he pushed me do you know what I mean and I loved it
There times obviously I didn’t love it but it he pushed me for the right reasons and and it made me it made me the goalie I was really I always wanted to yeah I always wanted to get in that car knowing that I could I could be like I’ve done
Well today you know what I mean and I I was as big a Critic as anyone on myself I knew when a goal went in y I would sort of I’d be disappointed do you know what I mean but my my dad would always say well can you do this a bit better
And it was just food for fault really do you know what I mean see see those car Journeys they’re so vital of like your understanding the game at such a young age as well your your dad or whoever looks after a child like to be able to
Have that journey home and go can you improve on this you played well today but can you do this they’re so important in reflection of course there’s always things you can improve on isn’t it even still now do you know what I mean at our age you can still
Improve just like I remember watching the the Peter Crouch documentary or something he done the other day and he speaks about his and how he sort of he give him he give him a bit of stick and he pushed him but I think everyone did
Do you know what I mean and we were lucky enough to have that do you know what I mean there’s some people that don’t have that so you got you got to think yourself lucky really that you had that person pushing you in your life and making you better and making you want
More yeah you’re clearly a bit of a character as well and you obviously really well spoken but you see like uh times are changing now in football and uh players coming through now A lot quieter but I think it’s it’s flipped a little bit players are more professional
Now but there there’s not as many personalities do you do you see that yeah I do yeah I think even like in the changing rooms and stuff I think and like around staff I think it’s sort of frowned upon to have too much of an opinion whereas
Before I don’t think it was yep and like I said when I was that 16 17 18 19 year old goalie in an around a first te environment just being there to watch and learn y I used to see arguments between player manager I used to doesn’t really happen anymore it is really
Frowned upon and I think times change don’t they so I do get it and but I don’t think there was lack of respect back then I think it was just the way it was and I think sometimes you all get on that you all go
With the manager and what he wants to do but then but now there’s like at clubs I’ve been at people have a different idea but they but they all just follow they follow they follow and and then ultimately more managers get sacked now and things like that but opinions are
Good I think I I love to talk I could sit here with you all day talk argue about like a goal that’s gone in and I won’t walk away going why is he why is he arguing with me I like that we differ in opinion because should be why not do
You know what I mean there’s no there’s no harm in that and I think I’d love to go into coaching and managing and whatnot and I’d love people to speak their mind you know what I mean don’t I’d ever stop people speaking their mind I think as goalkeepers we are slightly different in
Our mindset anyway the way we see the game we we reflect on the game like a manager does because of the way we stand at the end of a pitch and watch it being able to speak your mind as a goalie is so important yeah but discussion is also
So important to make a goalkeeper better yeah I just think like in our position is a sport in within a sport isn’t it do you know what I mean and people some people don’t understand us or it yeah as much as they do the game so you have to
Have a you have to be strong mentally you have to have a backbone do you know what I mean you have to get your opinion across and and that helps obviously working with good goalie coach have been really lucky work with lows that have your back do you know I mean the
Majority of goalie coaches have your back and they’re always on your side which is great to have you need that little goalkeepers Union you need that little click you know to to get you through the good and the bad times um you make a great point there it’s so
Important that a goalkeeper coach you can trust as well that 100% cuz we’ve all been there we’ve all sat on the bench and the first person that any mistake or any goal that goes in a manager a player a sub they always look at the goalie coach and the sub goalie
And go what’s he done there can you do better is it is it and they all do it and they’re all expecting you to go yeah you’re right like crap he’s got to be the one that just fronts it and goes he might have seen something slightly
Different than what we see is like there’s things that happen in a game he’s got to be the one looks after you I I mean I I work with a goalie coach at Charon still good mate to him now Ben Roberts he’s head of goal keeping at Chelsea and went for a time
At Charlton where managers were changing all the time it was a real sort of it wasn’t a great time for the club in terms of ownership and things like that and they foreign managers were coming in and he didn’t have that relationship with them so he actually used to watch
The game from the Gantry so some of these times that we were talking about before off air like I’d go and sit with him in the gantry and I thought it was brilliant cuz all he was worried about really was the goalie do you know what I
Mean and he could see it from like balls over the top should he have come should shouldn’t he have and he didn’t have that sitting on the bench and some fell that maybe he didn’t get on with as well as as as Chris poell for example who was
Who was his manager when he when he went into the club he didn’t have someone looking at him going what do you think straight away and putting you on the spot do you know what I mean so he saw the game and I really like that and I
I’ve seen other goalie coaches now do it as well watch it from above goalie coaches now are they got to look after the set pieces they’ve got more roles to do now and goalies obviously in training where’re doing more on our own and the goalie coach is
Then going off with the F the starting goalkeeper and helping with the defensive set pieces you get left down the end with the other goali is like well well let’s try and work out a session but I love it now because I’m I’m at that age now where I’m like well
I want to do this and this is what I need and yeah we’ll make we’ll do this so that when we go into shooting afterwards I’m ready yeah you feel right yeah but I think that’s that’s football like not not not respecting goalkeepers but it’s like oh
Do the do hold on a minute like that player on that pitch is as important as anyone arguably we’d sit here and say the most important most important but it’s like oh can you do this can you do the the set plays or whatever but it’s fine obviously at at certain clubs
Everyone has to muck in at the top clubs obviously they’ve got set play coaches throwing coaches things like this so when you go into coaching or whatever like you expected to do that stuff but sole Focus he on the goaling and helping him perform on a Saturday uh I want to
Go back to then Chon then going out on loan uh obviously you said that you you was in and about first team football for quite a while and that it must have been yeah you must have been knocking on the door for a lone move yeah I always felt
That and managers that I had it was sort of like you at your young age you’re brilliant to be a number two we really like you we can’t bring in anyone else but then I used to say I didn’t used to say anything at that young age
But it was I was like you’re hindering me really because I’m I’m happy sitting on the bench but really I should be out playing games and again Ben was was brilliant for me getting pushing me out for these loans and things like that but I did like two conference South loans
For like month six weeks bishop stford and whiteall which was like some of the SES you see some of the changing room some of the pitches white HK for example I played down on white HK and it’s like the pitch is like I think from one
Corner flow to the other there’s like 22 ft difference it was like the most ridiculous slow yeah so one Hill one one half you’re kicking up the hill second half but it was weird because kicking up the hill you always had the wind in your
Back sort of thing coming off the sea so it was so it actually helped you then kicking down you thinking a drop it in their 18 yard box and you couldn’t because the wind off the sea was coming in yeah but yeah they were to like little great loans and and obviously
Yeah learn non-league football and just men’s football really and then I had a I had a great loan probably arguably my favorite season ever winning the conference obviously something you you know about as well at cheltonham so my best mate had just been released from Charlton and he went and signed in the
Conference he thought I’m going to go and play full-time football went and signed for Gary Johnson at cheltonham and Gary Johnson asked Jack who was at Spurs as a kid about a couple of goalies from Spurs he said what about this one what about that one and fair play to my
Mate who was young at the time he said like no don’t take them take Dylan he’s looking for one from Charon then and then they spoke to I think it was Ben Roberts again at the time the Charon goalie coach and and he got something sorted in the preseason in the offseason
Before and I went down there played in like you wanted to see me in a trial game and I was happy to do it because I’d never played at the level so I was like right this would be great for me and i’ never looked back from there
Really it was it was a really good season I played 37 games got injured towards the end missed the last sort of eight or nine with a knee injury but we was nearly promoted anyway but it was a great time lived in an apartment with Four Lads in the middle of shelham and
It was just like we just lived and breathed football me to to have a promotion on your CV at that age was you 20 years old I think I was 20 yeah yeah so like that goes a long way for the rest of your career people always go oh
He’s got their money like yeah uh under his belt and that and obviously like you’re saying playing that amount of games at 20 but and being successful is unbelievable experience it was so good mate honestly like playing with experienced Lads getting their trust cuz remember actually a couple of preseason
Games didn’t go as I planned and I had a few few Ricks and I thought like UL I could straight away see that some of the older Lads were thinking young lad on loan are we going to be able to trust him and then 10 games into the season I
Knew I had everyone’s trust and it was just like I felt so confident going out there every week and once that loan actually finished I felt like I could play at any level you know what I mean and I just played in the conference and I went back
To Charon it was League one at the time and I thought I’m ready to go I’m ready to play here yeah they probably never thought that because that’s not how they saw it but I thought I can play for I was watching League One games on the
Bench and I was thinking I can there no different I can do exactly the same thing because to an extent there is no difference really when you’re a goalkeeper uh we’ve had this discussion on here before but like it would be interesting to put the Premier League goalkeepers in the National League
Because there in terms of goalkeeping ability obviously they’re the elite right but the actual games are the same yeah aren’t they like so it’s going to be difficult for any goalkeeper of any level to you can swap leagues it don’t really matter you can you can keep a
Quiet goal one day the next week you could turn up and be the busiest goalie in the world it just depends on that day I can’t think who it was who spoke to me about it Chris Maxwell he went to me he said like the higher you go the easier
It gets he said down in the conference and things he said some Lads don’t know where they’re going to put the ball whereas in the Prem for example not that I’ve played there but or the champ people they’re better at it so so they know where they’re going obviously
There’s disguise and things like this but the crosses are coming in with more quality and they’re going to hung up in the air not it’s not as random you know what I mean it’s it’s what you’re working on every day so yeah I mean obviously there’s a difference but I
Felt at that time that I was ready to play you know what I mean how hard was it to go back to Shelton then and then go right I’m I’m ready now to play am I going to compete am I going to go out on loan again yeah it was difficult we
Actually I got back fit from the knee and that I had and um we actually played chelham in the carabal cup second game of the season and normally Caravel cup the second choice gets a game yeah Declan rded come in on loan the manager was Russell Slade at
The time I went to see the manager and said like I’d like to go back on loan to chelham but then this is when it started to become a problem it was like well we we can only do that if we can bring someone in and they didn’t feel they
Could bring anyone in and they thought it was better to have a young lad on on the bench and things like this and so I thought unlucky you know I mean I’m disappointed that I can’t do that but great I’m going to get to play against chelham at chelham in the caravell cup
Second game of the season I never played and I was gutted but like it was great going back there seeing everyone but it would have been brilliant to play yeah and then yeah that season it was difficult I had to wait I had to wait for an injury really de got injured I
Can’t think exactly what it was and I played sort of 10 games but it’s weird you probably know exact the exact feeling you as much as I felt like I was so ready to go in once you’re actually on the pitch you think oh am I ready you
Know what I mean and then it takes you sort of five or six games to really feel like confident again played five or six games started to feel brilliant in the swing of it and then he come back fit and it was like changed it but I wasn’t
I wasn’t old enough or experienced enough to be really disappointed that he’ brought me out the side yeah but then I was quite close with a lot of the players at the time at Chon they were going to me like why do he took you out the side like you you’ve been doing
Great like d and I was just happy to have just to have just got actually made my child and debut do you know what I mean that I’ve obviously dreamt about as a kid playing first team football be it was at League one but that was what I
Wanted to do and I wasn’t that disappointed to come out and it’s then sort of the two three four weeks down the line once you’re then back on the bench that it’s like oh actually I really like that mean I want to be doing that all the time sometimes it’s like
Those opportunities that when you come out the team it makes you hungrier though yeah so then like the next time you get your opportunity you’re like I’m staying in there I need to nail this down that’s being a number one I can’t just be the I’ve come through the
Academy I’m a nice guy I’m a good goalkeeper and I’ve done well for the club but they’re just using me you have to find that point where you’re like no I’m I’m here to play or or I want to get out 100% And then the season after that
Preseason I think I played 10 games maybe that year and then the season after that Chon again couldn’t go again I wanted to go out and loan because I knew I wasn’t going to be the manager’s First Choice goalkeeper so I wanted to go out and loan for whatever reason it
Never really happened I was I was seen as that number two young lad yeah great to have as a club but when really the the sensible thing would have been to bring someone else in to do that job for me to then progress and I feel like I
Could have come back and played at Chon at an earlier age do you know what I mean I felt like I was ready anyway but I felt like that was the best and we had a few L Lads come in on Tri not trial
Come in to train and but I think where I was on low I was on like a rubbish deal for example coming through as a young kid they were like well we got a fork out double the money for someone who we’re not sure is as good as what we’ve got so
It was it was difficult and that season they brought Ben Amos in on loan from Bolton Bolton yeah so they brought Ben so I signed at Bolton okay and I was going into Bolton to be Ben’s yeah like competition basically and then I remember we played preseason games and
Obviously gaffa now is rexon with me now and he just I think it was the last couple of games of uh pre-season he just kept putting me in and just left me in and I was like obviously I’m going to be the one and then Ben was knocking on the
Door saying well out yeah okay so yeah he come to Charon and uh Ben was brilliant we just missed out on the no we got to the playoffs that year um sneaked in and lost in the semi-finals to shrewbury but like what a pro I mean Ben’s a great
Lad great I believable in the gym and as well fit for 46 games or whatever it was so I didn’t even get a sniff I played a couple of Cup games and he played well and there was no opening for me do you know what mean but it was funny because
Then year after we got promoted which we’ll talk about but then the year after that when we got to the champ I’d been on holiday with Ben in the summer we’ve been to New York and uh he was out of contract maybe at Bolton or something or he was he was looking
For a new club preseason champ season back at Charon B I was like what are you doing here do you know what I mean I was thinking oh no Ben’s going to come in he obviously had the thought of him being so good that season in Lee one I’m
Thinking I know we’ve just been promoted I know the shirt is probably mine but he’s going to be ready and waiting and it turns out that that season I was fit for the whole season played 46 games so it’s roll reversed you know what I mean
But Ben was great like we was I think we we got him really well do you know what I mean we got the best out of each other so yeah great lad yeah no obviously then let’s go on to your Chon promotion then uh obviously you coming through from
Such a young age and then getting the club promoted playing nearly every game that season again like obviously that’s a high up on your list of achievements got player of the Season as well yeah 100% it was yeah I mean the actual day at Wembley was was superb but the season
Building up to that there was some highs there was some lows there was a chance that I wasn’t even going to be at the club in January I was again so obviously decam Rod coming on loan from Norwich at the time maybe for That season three years back year after Ben
Com in on loan and then that season that I finally thought right I’m going to be the number one now I don’t think they B Mary com in Andy Marshall goalkeeper coach come from Villa and I was getting on really well we started the season okay not great we started the season
Okay we had a really good team and Jed steer coming on line from Villa so I thought oh here we go again sort of thing and played six games we got beat away at South End 2-1 I conceded a goal which I should have saved late on but
Then we went and scored so it was a great feeling as a goalie do you know what I mean relief which is ironic really what happens in the final but it was like great great feeling relief uh it was like an international break or something
Yeah we had a we had a League Cup game or something and Jed played done really well brilliant with his feet manager pulls me next Thursday we’re going to go down a different route we want to play out from the back so I thought disappointed felt like I’d been sort of
Like it was gonna happen again and it did happen again so I was disappointed had to knuckled down um me and Mary sort of I think it built our relationship as well because obviously I was really disappointed with the way it had gone yep but then I sort of said to him right
I I want to be as good as in with my feet I need to be because I can’t have that being my let down in my care an EXC so went away worked on that first of January came I remember I was playing golf at the time I on the golf course
Mar’s ringing me deal Jed’s going back to Villa you’ll be playing it was a Thursday afternoon I was out in the golf cuz I wasn’t playing I wasn’t really do you know what I mean I was like oh so I got off the phone and my mates like
What’s that I said well the lad’s going back on back to Villa I’m in sort of thing my chance to prove again played three or four games we’ actually lost a couple so it was a sort of good time to get back in got back inside had a couple
Of wins but it was the January transfer window so you never know someone’s coming in Chris Maxwell coming on loan from Preston and I just thought right if I want to be in control of my career I’ve got to go I’ve got to go and do something about
This I when going to see Lee Bo at the time and saying like bear in mind we just won three games on the spin and I’d done quite well I said like B I want to I want to go alone and he looked at me
Like what I was like I want to go alone I said I want to have control of my own career I said for the last four seasons goalies have come in on loan bigger names bigger pedigrees than me and they’ve just got in the team yep just
I’m going to make a mistake in between now the end I’m going to make a mistake so if you’re going to just put him in let me know and I’ll go uh packed my bags put all my boots in the car was signing for Mansfield in League 2
Adamant use off then yeah got a phone call from Marsh I think deal um you’re not going anywhere like you’re in tomorrow like it’s your shirt to lose and I thought from then I thought right it sounded genuine I thought get me head round it that’s me stayed in the team
And obviously yeah we got promoted maybe that conversation that you had with Bo cemented in his head you were ready yeah maybe you know like just the maturity that you had to went no I’m either playing here or I’m going somewhere else to play like you’re picking me or you’re
Not picking me let me know people can take that a number of different ways and I I’m glad he took it in the right way some managers wouldn’t but I felt like I was growing up and I felt like I needed to sort of take control of my own career
At that time yeah that was that was why I made that decision to go and see him and I think he was a little bit confused I think he was a little bit like taken back like what why has he said that to me he’s just played three games with’
Won do you know what I mean bit different if we weren’t doing great but yeah and stayed fit and stayed in the team till the end of the season obviously we got in the playoffs told me3 winning the playoffs wow it was we played donc cter away in the first leg of the
Semifinals and I see some of the Doncaster clips now I always watch the highlights on the bike on a Monday morning I always watch efl show and uh there’s no one there at the moment donc cost obviously they’re not doing great in League to I don’t think but it was
Packed and it was like real good atmosphere when we played them we we were two up cruising and then they scored really late on in that leg so it was like 2-1 not not really convincing anymore H in the balance yeah and then back to the valley I must have had 40 50
Friends and family there and it was packed the family wasn’t in the normal section because they couldn’t all go in there so was in like a different section they switched us round before the game so it was all a bit like oh what’s going on here we’re shooting towards the wrong
End first and we we we worked on a set piece like a run up wire free kick fake to take it they drop and four minutes in and we scored like perfect and it was like a 31 cruising long story short they come back into the game I think it ended three all
In extra time they scored I can’t remember the exact score I think it was maybe 3-2 to them on the night so it would have been yeah five or or something no what’s that three five five four yeah five something like that anyway in uh in extra time they scored
And then they scored straight away again so they was actually leading the TI and then we scored we went down the other end and scored straight away and I don’t if we didn’t score straight away I don’t think we would have we would have been harder they were sort of still flying
You know some sometimes when you when you score and then you concede straight away cuz you’re still flying on top of the world sort of thing went down there and Darren prattle scored the equalizer and went to penalty shootout I saved one penalty in the shootout and then alad missed the final
Penalty but where I dived it it looked to me as if it’ gone in because it hit the backboard and then it hit the net so I’ve looked I’ve seen the net Ripple and then and then 10 seconds later there’s 20,000 people on the pitch and I was like what is just
Going on I don’t even think their player who took the penalty realized that it was the last penalty do you know like if he missed it just gone to something it was the fourth or the fifth penalty I don’t think he realized cuz if you see
The clip he takes the pen misses turns around starts to jog and then he looks around and like I say there’s 20,000 people on the pitch yeah so it was like it was mad but yeah unbelievable we had to make our way back to the tunnel and
We had some great scenes in the in the change room afterwards I remember we watched I think it was Leeds V Derby in the championship playoffs seminal night before yeah and Derby won on pens and they were celebrating like they won it and I remember sitting with whoever I
Was sitting with at the time that one of the lads or whatever or my friends we won’t be celebrating like that if we win do you know what I mean not job done yet and then that happens and then we’re celebrating like with one the World Cup
Do you know what I mean you just can’t help yourself that two we buildup you get to calm down and start preparing properly for the playoff final that was just mental mate like it’s it’s sort of Steve Avery at Charon the academy the academy director we played at Old
Trafford when I was a kid like in the in the youth cup and I remember him saying to me don’t let this moment pass you by and I didn’t quite know what that meant and we played that game against man united there was 5,000 there it looked
Like there was about 300 people there because of how big it was and we lost 32 and I walked off the pitch and the next couple of days I thought oh my God I don’t even remember that game and that game did Pass Me By you know what I mean
It just goes like that so I remember that stuck with me and I thought I won’t let this day pass me by we obviously went to Wembley the day before looked at the pitch and I was just like this is crazy do you know what I mean this is
Mental and maybe five minutes in I was still trying to take it in instead of concentrating on what I should have been concentrating on but obviously four minutes in to the to the play final I get a back pass and I literally take my out it for a split second and it’s in
Yeah and all I can well not all I can remember cuz I remember it all but I remember as it goes under my foot I’ve sort of received the back pass from the left I’ve got it I’ve got it I’ve looked to the right as if to say right that’s
Where I’m playing next cuz ironically we we’re playing out from the back now cuz I can do it you know what I mean so I’ve looked I’ve looked back ball gone turned around Ball’s five yards behind me and actually at that moment I looked I thought it’s okay I’ll get that I’ll get
That do what I mean the pitch was so slick and quick that as I’ve turned to start running on it I’m thinking oh my God I’m not getting that and then literally like I can’t explain it gives me goosebumps now mate I can’t explain the Fielding like it was just like what
Have I done I remember there’s a picture of me I’m sort of like on my knee sliding into the goal trying to catch this ball that I was never ever catch him when you watch it back and I just thought like what am I going to do now like it’s four minutes
In there 85,000 people here and I’ve just let one under my foot in the biggest game of my career and literally like again it was again quite weird quite ironic that my friends and family apart from my mom dad who was sitting in like the really nice bit because you got
Some tickets for that all my friends and family were directly where they were sitting like the same sort of setup as the valley yeah and I remember looking and I could and one of my mates at the time he was like everyone was so quiet anded down I remember looking up there
Throwing the ball back and he was like he was like screaming at me as if to say like come on like get your head in it do you know what I mean like come on you’re all right like it’s gone and I remember looking at honestly man it gives me good
Yeah it’s crazy man and I looked at him and he’s got like come on don’t worry about it and literally oh it makes me shiver now and I just thought that’s it like now like it’s done it’s literally the worst thing that can happen is happen let’s
Just crack up people always ask me straight after the week after and even now when I see people they talk about it and I what was you feel and I actually I weren’t nervous I was obviously anxious for the game but because I’d played all them games before like we spoke about
Any at any level when you go in the team and you play five or six games it takes you that for me that’s what it takes five or six games to fill my groove and then I’m in then and I don’t get nervous I’m not that sort of person so I wasn’t
Nervous just played in front of a full house at the valley it’s the same same difference eight after you get past 20,000 people you know what I mean you know like it don’t matter how many there there could be 300,000 people it’s just noise isn’t it but yeah I wasn’t nervous
And and people say oh you must have just been nervous I wasn’t nervous I really wasn’t I just took my half the ball for a second accidents happen and it happens do you know what I mean and I remember every time the ball come back to me
That’s what I wanted we kicked off and I was like screaming at my Center half pass me the ball and they’re looking at me like what I was like give me the ball like I need to feel the ball like so remember getting the ball back and this
Part of the stadium here these 40,000 Charon fans you could hear a pin drop that 40,000 Sunderland you literally every time the ball come back to me it was oh and you could hear it but it was like it was it was mental mate and then obviously we scored just before halftime
I’ve got like the shirt and the gloves framed and there’s a picture of me and you can just see the relief on my face like I’m almost praying I’ve never prayed don’t pray I’m like praying as if to say like thank you whoever that is that’s just helped me like and we scored
Went went in with a good bit of momentum and at the at the time in the Chang room at half time we were actually laughing about it like Lads were looking at me like what have you done what has just gone on and I’m La we were laughing in
The Chang room like 100% like what happened I was I don’t know and we’re laughing and even Bo was like what have you done laughing about it do you know what I mean because I felt like we felt in control of the game yeah it wasn’t
The best game in the world we obviously went on to score in the nightly fifth minute or whatever it was which was brilliant but yeah it was a day I’ll never forget P just makes you want to do it again like I’m itching to do that again
I would love to do that again I would love to at whatever level do you know what I mean I just want to get back in the team I want to get back playing and I want to experience something like that again yeah a promotion or play because
I’ve only had good experiences to that I’ve I’ve not lost I’ve played one but people obviously have got bad experiences now I wonder how they feel do they want to go back and and relive it to like make it a positive one I imagine they do but because I’ve only
Had that good experience I just I just want that do you know what I mean it’s a bug in it yeah yeah yeah it is amazing right that’s uh right I want to get on with our quiz right goalie or no goalie hey there I’m Mark Howard professional
Goalkeeper and the host of The Yours M away podcast today I’m Prill to share my secret with you when I got my hands on active collagen it was an absolute game changer for me as football player we all want to train hard play harder and recover faster since rupturing my
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Footballers all over the world that now take active collagen to make injuries a thing of the past and recover faster grab yours now and transform your game uh you know a little bit about it’s a bit of a stitch up yeah so you’ve uh I’ve got five of the current a league
Goalkeepers in Australia yeah that is testing me and then uh I’ve got five famous creators of cartoons famous creators of cartoons I’ll be rubbish you won’t know any of them the the actual names but you’ll know all the cartoons right okay so uh one point for each correct answer yeah number one Steven
Hilberg that sounds like not a goalkeeper he is not a goalkeeper Good Start Good Start he is a creator of SpongeBob SquarePants oh there you go pretty famous guy now I reckon the Berg the hillberg I don’t know why hillberg yeah it just made me think yeah can’t be
A goalie right number two mlin freak fre see I’ve actually looked recently at weird because I actually looked I was for whatever reason scrolling looking at different leagues all over the world and I’m looking at the Australian goalies and a lot a lot of them are Australian
Majority of I think there’s only two or three that I’ve noticed what was that name again mlin fre fre or freak it doesn’t sound very Australian I’m going to go no goalie again he is a goalkeeper he is the Brisbane raw goalkeeper he didn’t look that well yeah I think he
Might be German yeah it doesn’t sound Australian does it right number three Philip Cur you throw me now because it’s sort of I’m going to go I’m going to go goalkeeper he is a goalkeeper he’s the MacArthur FC goalkeeper there you go yeah I haven’t gone for like Jamie young who like the
Most famous ones and stuff something The Sounds Australian really right number four David deat no not a goalie not a goalkeeper he is not a goalkeeper he is the creator of the Pink Panther oh there we go look can’t wait to see this little like pink pamp is just walking across the screen
For YouTube number five James delov delov delenov I’m going to go against the gra what I’ve said about Australian names I’m going to go goalkeeper he is a goalkeeper he’s got this right now yeah who does he play for Adelaide okay delov can’t say this from a teeing right number six akiri
Toriyama I think I’ve what I said earlier is going straight out the window I’m going goalkeeper he is not a goalkeeper he uh created Dragon Ball Z I thought you I thought I’d trick you with that one cu the old Asian connection with Australia yeah I’ve done you you
Have number seven Neville asley not a goalkeeper he is not a goalkeeper he created Peppa Pig oh bet he’s doing it right for himself now yeah yeah he’s flying I he’s doing quite well for himself right number eight Trey Parker goalkeeper he is not a goalkeeper he
Created South Park oh I wouldn’t know that Trey Parker would have been a great Australian it sounds good don’t it bet he can surf number nine Paul ISO that’s a goalkeeper yeah it’s definitely a goalkeeper it’s definitely an Australia name ISO ISO yeah yeah nice right and number 10 Alex
Pson this is where you forgot am you’ve done it 100% I can tell you’re thinking about it goalkeeper he is a goalkeeper yeah Wellington Phoenix goalie seven out of 10 not bad is it good deal that’s good that mate is good yeah that’s good especially as I do try and trick people
With a lot of guessing going a l but we take it I can’t believe your theory just went straight out the window yeah it did yeah right I want to talk moving to Cardiff then uh and then buying you uh obviously uh first time it happened in
Your career being bought and that that must have been uh a huge feeling of like yeah they’re serious about me going there yeah it was uh obviously played for Charon in the championship that year got relegated on the last day really away it leads we lost fournil but results could have gone our
Way I think it was brenford versus barnesley brenford needed just a draw or something to go up automatically and they ended up losing to barnesley our game had finished and I look and I looked over and the goalie coach Mar is kind like we’re all right we’re all
Right our game’s finished and then literally you see heads just go down I thought oh my God the score barsy scored like Great Escape we got relegated with 48 points or something like that and you look at the big you look at this you look at the champ now this year
Obviously Ram we’re we’re not really anywhere near that but like the other teams have still got to get sort of 10 points to get to that 48 Mark so I think at the time it might have been one of the like highest points down okay there
Was a couple of teams or at least one team I think Wigan that had had points deducted so that also would have helped us a little bit but um we started off so well that champ season and it was like we’re not going to struggle we had a great team coming
Up from League one we added to it a bit we had some great loans we had like Connor Gallagher coming for the first half of the Season then injuries hit Connor left covid came we had a couple of players who didn’t actually play who
Sort of was up at the end of the year and the club sort of behind the scenes was not sort of sorting people out with contracts and things so they sort of was like right I’m not fit can’t play they got to look after themselves I I hold no
Grudges against anyone for doing that really but it could have killed us because it was literally a point at the end of the day and you never know but um personally for me that season I felt like I established myself as a championship goal Le obviously I got
Player of the year I knew I knew that there was interest in the summer and where I’d been at CH for so long I felt like I deserved a chance somewhere else to move on sometimes you feel ready as well yeah and and I just and I
Obviously with the club going back to League one it wasn’t going to sort of it wasn’t the next step in my career I’d have wish we’ have stayed in the championship and I wished I I could have signed a longer term contract at Charon like I do genuinely believe that would
Have been a good thing for me and I probably would have been sitting here now with maybe more games under my belt if that had happened but it didn’t happen and I had to go and test myself and obviously come back for preseason I’d made it sort of clear to the club
That if there was interest I would like to go test myself in the championship and it just took a bit of time really like sort of behind the scenes at Charon wasn’t great and they was trying to get every sort of pound that they could yeah and um there was a
Couple of options for me to go straight at the start of preseason which would have probably been better for me I would have probably settled at a club and that didn’t happen turns out Charon ended up accepting the same amount of money that they turned down at the start of the
Window but always a I went I went to Cardiff and I was really excited by it um NE Harris was the manager uh when I signed and it was it was great to have someone who when I spoke to him he showed confidence and belief in me orbe
He said like you’re coming here to compete we’ve obviously got Alex SM who’s a top goalie top guy yeah so I knew I knew I my work cut out and I knew I was going to have to wait for a chance but I was excited by the move and if
Someone have asked me before that are you going to move to Cardiff I was a bit like not too sure about Cardiff in terms of where it is on the map Club but mate yeah massive Club really enjoyed my time there living there again wish it would
Have lasted longer um me and Katy bought a house there and and we loved it there and wish we could have lived in that longer um but yeah game time was sort of few and far between I think I played 38 games in h 35 something like that in
Sort of like two and a half Seasons yeah two seasons um so I did get my fair amount of chances had to wait sort of 10 games Neil Harris actually got the sack by I time I’d got in the team so again I was playing for a manager that hadn’t
Signed me which was difficult um but got the chance I remember it was Co at the time as well which which also killed a couple of my moments there I think I saved two penalties at home to Preston straight after the other one after the
Other and if that was at home in front of the fans at car would would have been unreal it was still it still it was still a great moment and I and I was proud of it and and the fans obviously did appreciate it but it would have been
So much better if they was in the stadium but I come on against Bristol City and obviously a derby after four minutes I was actually I actually took a I was actually replacing a stud in my boots I had no boots on I was ready to
Go yeah I had no boots no I three three studs missing out my boots I’ve looked up and how was like on the floor all the paramedics around him and he actually had like a virus it wasn’t Corona virus but he actually had a v virus but I
Didn’t even get no like sense of it in the warm up I thought he was something just come over him he was actually in hosport I think for a few days and got in played sort of 10 11 games for Cardiff there off of off of an illness
And we were doing really well at the time but again it was all behind closed doors so never really never really got the full card if experience in that sense we went on to win that game 2-0 against Bristol City away which again would have been brilliant in front of
The fans and yeah played 10-11 games Al come back maybe it was more than 10-11 I can’t remember exactly played a run of games Al come back and he sat on the bench for a bit had to wait for his chance and then his chance came and then he pulled
Us both Mick McCarthy towards end of the season I think there was six games to go and he said can’t decide on either of you like we I’m going to give you three games and you three games show me what you can do and and and preseason next year and then
We’ll we’ll decide from them um it’s not helpful that though no I was just grateful to be able to play games mean I didn’t want to come out the side when I come out I’ll come back in play played I think three or four games and then like
I say I played three or four I can’t remember exactly what it was but it’s hard to be it’s dis disappointing for yourself but I’ve got on well so well with Al and I’ve all I don’t think there’s been any that I haven’t gotten with to be honest but we just wanted the
Best for each other you know what I mean um it’s so important that yeah and then that preseason came the second season Mick McCarthy was the manager and I started the season so in my eyes he he’ sort of he saw me I think Al was coming
To his last year had some interest as well which I didn’t think helped him not didn’t help him but he nearly signed for a couple of clubs in that window so sort of like there was a little bit of uncertainty but I got the shirt I was
Playing but and fans were back in the stadium great but we just didn’t get off to a good start first four games were okay and I think we lost five or six on the spin yeah uh I come out the side we lost a couple more and then mck McCarthy
Got the sack so then now it’s another new manager coming in Al’s obviously at the club loads more experience than me um and stayed in the side for the majority of that season and we stayed yeah we got into a bit of a relegation battle Yeah we stayed up with a few
Games to go seven games to go and actually Al had an operation at the time and stepped away and I played the last seven games I got some more games yeah that was my last game in English league football in the championship was two not last season season before away at Derby
In the last game of the season we won one- nil but it was a strange feeling because I knew that my time at Cardiff might have been coming to an end yep even though you had another year in your contract you know it’s kind of the right
Time to move on I knew something was going on behind the scenes I knew that I wasn’t really particularly wanted at that time by the manager he wanted to go down a different route so phone calls with the agent yeah and then it was sort
Of like right again I got to take it out of other people’s hands and put it into my hands so yeah so then obviously throughout that summer then are you trying to manipulate a move or is it a bit of both the you know that Cardiff
Are trying to get you out so you’re just trying to get of it yeah um I had no interest in in and even still now like I want to be wanted you know what I mean like especially as a goalie I think it’s so important it’s
Not you’re not a striker who can come on for 20 minutes and change someone’s opinion and people say train hard and I do train hard and but if a goalie is playing well he’s playing well he’s playing well he’s not coming out the side so I think it’s so important that
The manager wants you to be at that football club and he wants you to play and if he don’t want you to play he wants you to be ready to play because he sees you as the next one in line otherwise you’re just there do you know
What I mean and that’s what I felt I would have been and I didn’t want to be that obviously signed under new arish and I felt like just when I spoke to him he wanted me to be there so I was really grateful and I was not happy sitting on
The bench but I knew that if anything happened to Al or if a lack of form or whatever I knew the manager backed me and I knew he wanted me to play so that’s what I was searching for really someone who who was interested and who
Wanted wanted to take me but it wasn’t a massive mov in Market that some of for goalkeepers and and maybe I hadn’t done enough to to be able to move to another championship side or I still had a year left so would Cardiff ask for money if I was to go
Somewhere permanently so the loan seemed the better option there was a couple of options in England But ultimately for whatever reason finances Etc uh this loan come about in Belgium and it was and it suited me at the time and it suited The Club at the time did
You fancy a change away from English football as well never never did I ever ever like some people say I really want to play abroad but I would love to I still i’ love to just have that experience of a couple of games even if it was just a couple of games the
Lifestyle that’s great like for me English football is the best so I want to play my I don’t have to explain it I think like I want to play majority of my career in England would I like to finish my career somewhere or if an opportunity
Came up to go and sign for I don’t know a a big team abroad of course you would yeah but it’s not uh it’s not an ambition of mine really and it wasn’t an ambition of mine to go and play abroad but obviously speaking to Rich M
And Richard Lee and we sat down and we looked at how the Belgium League was the most scouted league in the world and I think still is yeah for whatever reason we decided that was the best thing for us to do and and and we went there
And it was mixed it was indifferent really yeah a lot of a lot of bad times in terms of on the pitch off the pitch that is definitely not for this podcast in terms of like in terms of where we lived and court cases for things like curtains and honestly we could talk
About it all day but that’s not for this but just being in a different country people people like sending you letters and speaking to you in in different they all speak English brilliant we can be seen as quite lazy can’t we English people but it everyone spoke
English it wasn’t a problem but there was just a few issues with like where we were living and and paying bills and things like that it just become really difficult and at that club that I went and played for at orend there wasn’t a great deal of
Support and help off the pitch okay because things on the pitch were going so bad for the club so it was like that’s our priority we fix that and we won’t worry about where Dylan’s living and if he’s got to pay x amount of bills and and things just built up and built
Up and no one help me with any of that do you know what I mean if it’s new to you as well and you’ve got no idea almost what’s going on you’re you’re there to worry about the football of course yeah and like so you’re putting all of your effort into the football
When you’ve got other stuff in the background nagging at you or uh distracting you it’s not helpful and we’re lucky in England we have play aison and things like that are massive part of football clubs and they help I like to think we help foreign players
Yeah come in here yeah it’d be difficult for them imagine do you know I mean we take things for granted did you find that the dressing room then was a bit more clicky and you weren’t used to addressing where yeah it was I felt really old we spoke about off camera I
Felt really old there was a lot of young talent that had sort of been released from bigger clubs in Belgium or bigger clubs in Germany and they’d sort of aend actually had quite a good record of like selling players on you’ve got um thead plays for Leicester the center half with
A crazy hair Faz is it w Faz he was there uh I’m trying to think there’s a lad I can’t think many plays we moved from aen to Rangers I think he’s now at an even bigger Club can’t think of his name but they’d had some real like
Players sort of go there Jack Henry went there on loan from Celtic and then moved to Club Bru so it was like we sat down and we thought if I go there and I perform this could really open up the whole of Europe again it was never
Something that I wanted to do but options were limited so it was like I’ve got to take this and I I look back here and I think like I could have easily said no I could have easily just said like no I’m going to sit around here I’m
Going to wait for a chance at ciff or maybe never get a chance but I felt like it was a bold move to make and I don’t regret it I don’t regret it but I just wish things would have gone different at the club I wish the actual Club was a
Better sort of environment the environment was poor it’s all results based you mean if things aren’t going right on the pitch it affects everything yeah like we said like I spoke off camera it took me three weeks to get my Visa because of exit and things it’s all
Different now so I went over there didn’t actually play for the first four games and then the guy who signed me the sporting director who had seen me play when he worked for barnesley he was the one who signed me he was the one really pushing for me but the manager seemed
Like he didn’t really know who I was do you know what I mean so when I turned on when I spoke to the manager I thought oh he wasn’t really the one pulling for me so like I’ve got to prove something to this guy do you know what I mean instead
Of like you’ve come to play yeah and the goalie at the time a French no he was Belgium French speaking uh gam he done really well and started the season really well so I was like well even though he’s doing really well I’m move country I move country here to come and
Play games I not mov country to come and sit on the bench so it was really difficult time yeah sitting on the bench there not playing and when you go away to like a standardly age it was brilliant and I was sitting on the bench thinking I wish
I’m playing but then in that League you can also go away to a team like Sarang for example and it’s like it’s like League two conference stadium so the difference is like and when you’re sitting on the bench there you’re thinking oh my God what am I doing here
But then when you’re sitting at a standardly age on the bench you’re thinking I love to be playing it was the atmosphere was electric but yeah had some good times just a good learning curve but could wait to get home yeah couldn’t wait to get home couldn’t wait
To get back to and obviously was in contact with Rich all the time and it was just like it’s been disappointing we want to get back to England really so what’s it been obviously you’re back at over in England now back at Ram what’s it been like the season yeah so
Uh during the summer I was a free agent which I’d never been before which I felt was really all the way up from like eighty old like I’d never been released or I’d never been like got to the end of a year and told like you’re actually we
Actually don’t want you anymore y so it was a strange time do you know what I mean because car ultimately didn’t say it to me didn’t speak to him contract ended but was like thanks but no thanks but and it’s a weird feeling because I’ve never been a free agent i’
Never been told like we don’t actually want you anymore vulnerable it yeah so strange when onid these it was same same as always I always knew that there would be something for me but there wasn’t a hell of a lot of options and I felt like I’d done enough in Seasons before and
Proved that I could play in the championship that ideally I wanted a championship club and I wanted to play in the championship but I respected that where i’ sort of had a couple of indifferent Seasons that might not be the case so obviously we looked at options in leagues below but there
Wasn’t a hell of a lot out there really so I had a couple of options in the championship and went with Ram uh Matt Taylor was a manager at the time who was at Charon and when I was sort of 16 17 18 he was there they actually got
Promotion from League one so I I knew him well from there I used to travel in the changing room things like that spoke to him a lot and he was like come in uh we’ve got Victor Johansson he’s been brilliant but if he drops in form we
Know what you can do and or if he moves on which is a likely a good chance that he will like we want you to step in and play so to hear that from him and from Scott Brown the goalie coach who I had a connection with sort of mutually through
Cheltam we never played with each other at the same time but we’d spoke a lot because he’d had good times at Shelton had good times so we just contacted through that so that was like going from a place abroad where I felt like I wasn’t really wanted to go and sign for
Two people in particular that that really wanted me at that football club at the time it’s important that the other options I had nothing stood out like that to me so we made that decision that that’s where we go and it’s been frustrating for me this year again not
Playing any games in the league I’ve played a couple of Cup games but really frustrating but like I said like they were right about Vic he’s been absolutely brilliant and I think he’ll go on to have a a really good career I think his options are going to be
Endless in the summer yeah um and it’s just another another one of them Seasons where he stayed fit and played really well and you just you just don’t get a chance as a goal you don’t get 20 minutes like a stri obviously you see Lads in the change room and they have
The right to be disappointed when they’re coming on for 10 15 minutes of course I get that but sometimes I look at them and they’re upset about coming on for 10 minutes I think I’d love to come up 10 minutes and try and show the
Manager what I can do do you know what I mean it’s so different uh obviously like we’re s sat on a bench and we we’re not expected to come on at all maybe once in a season but like you’re saying Subs are sat there going I can influence this
Game for for the better off for Worse yeah normally when you’re losing you come on as a forward player or maybe not as a Defender I suppose you come on maybe when you’re winning but you’ve got chances do you know what I mean like I’ve literally sat on the
Bench in the league I’ve been fit and available for every game this season yeah and I and as I have been touchwood throughout my whole career really but I’ve spent a lot of time sitting on the bench waiting for opportunity do you know what I mean through in my opinion
No thought of my own do you know what I mean like I’ve not I’ve not turned down a great League one playing option in the summer to do that because I want to stay in the championship because I got an ego what I thought was right for me at the time
So I’m itching to get back into it I want to play like I want them moments back again that I had at Char and things like that but you have to be patient and I know that I’m still I am 28 so I’ve still got still young a long long career
Ahead yeah hopefully mate so I know them times will come but it’s just it can be frustrating and it can test you mentally I like to think I’m quite strong in that department so so I’ll be all right but it’s just I’m itching for something to
Get and play some games M that don’t ever leave you I’m 37 now and I still still on a Saturday I wake up going wish I was playing today after the game I’m like i’ would love to have played in that game I still 20 years have been a
Pro and I still get those feelings they don’t ever leave you no I bet yeah so you you’re crack on mate yeah but I just want to briefly touch on your gloves and that uh obviously you’re in the one glove now uh what why are you with the
One glove I’ve worn them for ages I know you have yeah that’s I don’t actually know how is it the Rob Elliot connection I don’t think it was I think cuz I don’t think Robbie wore one glove when he was at CH and that was years and years ago I
Think it only started really when he went to Newcastle yeah um I actually wore All Sport for a was it the champ season no the season we got promoted at Charon in League one I wore All Sport for that one random season but getting a
Hold of more than sort of 20 pairs a year was just impossible but then I went back to one again when they started to sort of like develop and and they’ve got a range of gloves now do you know what I mean so and yeah I just feel like that I think I
Think they’re as good as any do you know what I mean so why would I not um what size are you I’m a 10 10 yeah yeah has that changed for different cuts so I mentioned his name the goalkeeper yoan Teran who signed on loan for Charon from standardly
Age I used to wear like really big bulky ones you know like roll finger yeah and I start started to get like into a I don’t know about you but like I feel like go back for preseason and I feel like my habits are like in terms of like
Goalkeeping training habits are like perfect yeah but especially when you’re not playing and you’re training all the time you end up picking up like two touch and taking too many touches shooting drills yeah because you’re just like get into that bad habit you do yeah but I used to catch with the massive
Massive role I had no feeling it was all about if the gloves were good my hands were good do you know what I mean and Ben Robertson he’s like take said put them on so he old sport he wore old Sport and he had like thinnish latex
Really like flat palm and it was literally I could feel my fingers in the gloves like there was no latex and uh I was almost like he almost used to grabed the ball instead of like let it hit his gloves he used to grab it do you know
What I mean with his fingers and a bit more like feel and from that time on was I never wore roll finger again because I felt like it restricted my sort of feeling in my hands but I’m quite open to sort of change him I’ve actually spoke to mil recently and he’s he’s
Sending me a similar glove with a sort of flat Palm in the two fingers in the middle yeah um again we’re like I’ve not been playing I’ve been training I like to try different things to see see see what works and see how and sometimes I think
You put a new pair of gloves on a different style it’s like oh makes you feel different as well makes you concentrate a bit more you know what I mean you see these gloves with no no no stick no uh no grip gloves and things like that I’d be quite interested in in
Trying see what see what see what they’re like but um now the one glove’s been brilliant and uh when when did you go to the no strap gloves it’s only been the last couple of years yeah it’s only been the last couple of years there can
Be an to get on I sort of I sort of have like a ritual of like when I played some games last year in Belgium like I’d have the same guy put the glove on for me so like once I’m all strapped up and I’ve
Put one on it’s sort of difficult to get the second one on so like i’ have like a bit of a Superstition where that same would put that glove on do you know what I mean um what do you strap up as well that’s an interesting one just my wrist
M just wrist you fingers at all no no I’ve touched wood again I’ve been lucky with my fingers really so just just standard G strapping really yeah it’s it’s normally to bulk out your your wrists a bit so that the gloves fit CU and them I don’t know about you but
Goalkeepers have wide hands don’t so then when it comes to your wrist your wrist are normally generally quite narrow so everyone kind of straps them to like make it feel like it’s all one and I think with these non strapless ones mate if you was just to sort of put
Them on the skin I think they’d move around a bit more whereas you got a decent strapping the glove sort of sits on it sort of like TS it down you know mean keeps it keeps it doesn’t let it go all like baggy yeah and how long do you
Wear them for typical pair of gloves it all depends on the the pitches really me does and the conditions yeah so if you’re on bad pitches then you could be S been through a lot of pairs of gloves this year training a lot but if you’re training a lot that’s what obviously
You’re not doing cool down days so when you play on a Saturday if you’re the first choice Keeper at the moment you play on a Saturday you’re off Sunday you don’t do much too do don’t so then even like Tuesday is still a monitored session but the the other goalkeepers
Will be flying about Monday they’ll be doing all the shooting on the Saturday so you end up training for about four five hours more per week at least and and at R we’ve I mean Rex you guys have got loads of goalies at R we got me Vic
And one young lad that’s literally it that’s the maximum we have and obviously if one of them is not one of us is not training for whatever reason or if the young lad wants to play in a game or something down to a bare Bon of two
Three goalies so resources like that are a bit sort of bit lower um but yeah it just depends on the pitches really you could play I look at like top goalies in the Premier I think they can have as many gloves as they want from whatever brand
They don’t need many because the pitches even their training pitches are so good that they’re not ding around in in in Mucky goalie areas do you know what I mean the pitches are perfect perfect yeah so that’s all depends but I do I do
I do like a new glove I could stick them on and play straight away really whereas before I used to train with them once but I would I would do still break 20 volleys on a Friday if I was planing on a Saturday with a new pair of gloves but
I could just put them on and play with them they’re that good yeah right uh before I ask a final few questions what’s your release away from football I love golf mate yeah I know we said this off golfer I love playing golf um haven’t really played all that much to
Be honest because the weather’s been so bad up north water I yeah so yeah um golf is is my real get away sort of thing don’t let the Miss hear you say that too much no yeah obviously spending time with Miss we got a dog and my family and her
Family when they cu cu we live away from home like we don’t they sort of come to us do you know what I mean more than we go to them it’s like a little weekend away for them so it’s nice we with the football and the schedule things we
Don’t get back all that often so it’s nice when our families come up and see us yeah um it’s also with the the days off and that if you only get a Sunday off you’re not going to drive back on a Saturday night to then drive back on you
Can’t drive back Monday morning so and it is just that little bit too far like we have go back to sort of horn church or we go or we go down to Brighton and it’s sort of like three and a half four hours do you
Know what I mean which is a lot of driving so we don’t really like to do it that often but if we get a few days off we will come back yeah nice right and then finally what does a goalkeeper’s union mean to you I think it’s massive
Mate like I really do like I’ve touched on already like there’s not really anyone really that I’ve not got on with even even going out to Belgium last year that was a massive VI open for me even going out to Belgium and expecting to play and then I never wanted that lad
Gam to do bad do you know what I mean never once said I want him to do bad and we actually he had some it was difficult year for everyone at that club so he he had some difficult times playing and but we got on really well we wanted the best
For each other so yeah it was uh it’s massive mate and gets the best out of everyone otherwise That Awkward tension and that you just don’t you just don’t need it yeah no I appreciate you coming on deal it’s been amazing obviously great to hear your story and speecher and that and
Obviously enjoy top guy mate yeah no I’ve really enjoyed it thanks for wish all the best going forward I say a massive thank you to our sponsors massive thank you for to Dylan for coming on please make sure you like comment and subscribe this has been the
Yours M away podcast with me Mark Howard and Dylan Phillips man mate thank you what a say from Mark what
5 Comments
loved this mark 👏
Always great
Alex Paulsen is not just any keeper in the A-League.
Hes been the MVP! up the nix!
mark u should go on undrthecosh. big audience would help grow channel
Tony Roberts getting a shout out has made my day. What a bloke